Fair Play: Should we get rid of Coach Weiss?

(This is the draft of my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu)
THERE’S an interesting post in the Pinoy football page in facebook, and the poster wants to get rid of coach Weiss.

Fire him he said.

So, should we? Or more importantly, should the PFF team management get rid of Coach Weiss?

No.  But that doesn’t mean the sentiments should be ignored by the coach or the team management.

Coach Weiss is in a position no Philippine coach has ever been before and his every move—and non-move--is criticized by fans, which is a welcome change. (In PHL football setup, I pay more attention to fan and social media criticism, not traditional media criticism).
But should we fire him?

Because he’s tinkering with the lineup so much that if he could get away with it, he’d put in Neil Etheridge at midfield or Chieffy Caligdong at goal? 

There’s been lots of talks against Weiss’ penchant for fielding players off their positions or of his lack of sub—he won’t sub if his life depends on it—and I’ve had my fun poking here and there regarding that but I don’t think it’s worth getting fired.

Sometimes, experiments work and I present El Capitan Alexander Borromeo as Exhibit A. Here’s a guy who started as a goalkeeper in the national youth team, became a striker in the senior team and is now known as the best defender the Azkals fans have ever known.

I don’t like the way Coach Weiss keeps harping about lack of preparation, of saying he wants to expose the homegrown players only to deny them the opportunity, but is that reason enough to send him packing?

No.  But it’s reason enough to ask a lot of questions.

Come to think of it. What has the Philippine team achieved under him? We got to the second round of the World Cup qualifiers, we got to the main draw of the Challenge Cup and these are things no Philippine team has done before.

Should we get rid of Weiss and get Coach Simon McMenemy back? Coach Simon’s contract wasn’t extended for a reason, and the players in the 2010 squad know that and I say that’s a step backward.

So, should we get rid of Coach Weiss? Hell no. With a tournament just around the corner? It’s suicide!

But that doesn’t mean that fans should stop criticizing his moves. I believe that in the absence of pundits and knowledgeable writers in traditional media, all these talks serve a “check-and-balance” function. It's the online equivalent of "Please explain in 24 hours..."

For the Challenge Cup and the Suzuki Cup, let’s stick with Coach Mike.

Fire him? I wouldn’t go that far.

Does that mean a contract extension is a cinch? Oh, I wouldn’t go that far, either.



Comments

Raul Ylanan said…
Thank you for saying some things that need to be said. Or at least discussed more openly. And thank you for making your position clear. What do I think? Keep coach Weiss for as long as there is visible improvement in our results. In the bigger scheme of things, individual players' gripes don't (and shouldn't) count.
Cebu Football said…
You're welcome. I think it's about time we hear the management team address the points raised.
Wiking said…
Nice and balanced Mike. In my opinion keep him until his contract and no more unless he produces a "miracle" ala 2010.
JewelsHRH said…
great points Mike! :) keep it up!
sirnahsh said…
Let see the result after afc..then we need another coach in order for us to move on and thats the right thing to do f he cannot succeed even in the afc then how can he in world cup?
Anonymous said…
As always sensible article.. Hell no for now!!
Anonymous said…
all I can is "Stability is the key!"..
Meghan said…
..well for me, Mcmenemy, might be known for being the spark plug of the football era here in our country but, by looking at the achievements of the current team, well it is very great, well great players aren't made overnight, they are molded by time... well I believe Weiss is being wise for choosing those who have the potential usually those who are european grown players, why? because their Football level is very different compared to our homegrown, yes we might say that homegrown players must have the chance.. hell NO!. they are not young anymore, the only one have the opportunity are the younger ones.. so some of the homegrown outstands is so lucky that their caliber is qualified to be internationally competitive...

the only problem that is encountered on the team that came from different cultures and aspects of life is the cohesion.. I agree that our team should be named as AZKALS, why because they where mongrels... they are just mixed breeds.. but i guess these Philippine National Mongrel team, really deserve it.. even though they have different blood run through their veins there is only one aim.. to play and to display the national flag.. still it doesn't matter.. from where you come from...

Well back to the topic.. JUST KEEP WEISS.. :)
Anonymous said…
It could also be the case that the problem does not lie entirely with the coach, but the fact that the national players are frankly performing at their peak level and are not good enough to improve further.
Dindinskiii said…
keep the German for the Challenge Cup. Depending on his performance as a coach during that tourney, sack or keep him. When I say performance, the team doesn't need to be the champions so Weiss can keep his position, I mean, if during the tourney, he's at it again.. he's done all these lapses he's been doing for the past year (i dont need to enumerate them), its time for him to go. He's set his target to reach the semis, lets see.
jonny said…
I think his contract is until end of 2012 ?

If he get Philippines to semifinals in AFC Challenge Cup I think he will continue , if not he will be sacked after AFC Challenge Cup.
dudetrak drizki said…
KEEP WEISS..

well in both ways "without azkals" coach mcmenemy will still be in UK. after his brief stint w/c he steered our team to Suzuki Cup semis 2010, his name, as well as the Etheridge and Younghusbands became household fan names. siguro if not for the lack of UEFA B license at that time he might be our azkals "chief tamer".. hehe.. after he left us he became a coach and a technical director in a V-League team and this year he is coaching a top contender Indon team in the ISL..

for Coach Weiss, he's endorsed by DFB (German football body) to PFF - and given for the 6,000 euro monthly salary (w/c is a "low"), he is a SULIT! - steering the azkals for the 2012 AFC challenge cup, bringing talented fil-euros to the azkals core.. bringing the technical german play (??) to us..
drew said…
Is McMenemy qualified already? Last I heard he needed to earn more badges to be qualified to coach a senior national team, but I don't know how accurate that is. I read somewhere that he was allowed to coach the Azkals the first time around because he was just a temporary replacement until a qualified coach could be found. That's not to say he's not talented though because he is.

What I don't understand is why so many diehard fans keep blaming only Weiss for everything and always compare him to Simon. They're so blinded by their adoration of the boys that they don't realize how hard it is to keep those guys on track. Some of them are known to miss training sessions and even when they are present, they are distracted by their commercial commitments and social lives.

I've also read and heard many of these same fans, who didn't know anything about football until last year, second guessing Weiss' decisions regarding his starting lineups and the guys he included in the current training camp. If these people were to really watch the games and practices with more insight than fan lust, it would become obvious to them that some of their favorites really aren't as good as they think they are.

The big problem with firing Weiss, apart of course from the fact that the Challenge Cup is only weeks away, is that he is a 'gift' from our German football friends. It's been said that they are the ones who pay for his salary. To get a new coach, Dan Palami would have to find a way to get rid of Weiss diplomatically. Also, if the team wants a coach of their own choosing, that would probably mean that Dan will have to pay for him out of his own pocket, like he doesn't already pay for almost everything else.
Anonymous said…
honestly Mcmenemy system is much better for our country, very scrappy and defensive, a real "Azkals way". It may be boring and every frustrating to our counterparts his style but it is effective, it is like the style of Italy in the world cup winning years, defensive minded. Wala namang pinag babawal sa football sa defensive style kaya oay lang yan. Even Phil Husband miss his former coach, we want him back
Anonymous said…
The dilemma is: was Weiss chosen by the PFF or forced upon it by the German FA? If he came as part of a financial support package deal any talk of replacement is pointless.
What's for sure though is that in any developing football country the coach plays the most crucial role. Apart from having good tactical training skills it's vital he has a close personal rapport with the players. I fear this has never happened and never will happen with Weiss.
basti_sebastian said…
To start off it was my post at pinoyfootball about firing Kots and at later i reiterated that at least give him until the AFC Challenge Cup finishes(My bad because of too much emotion on my part). It all started after the AZKALS vs GALAXY match. He stated on not to worry it was just a friendly match. My golly where's his "Play for Pride" mentality? My view was to keep the score low. Play defensive until the last 20 - 15 minutes of the match. To lose 6-1 for me was an insult because if Indonesia kept it low why can't we. He can't form a solid backline with Aly on the sidelines. I hate long ball attacking(old school)style because speed and stamina wise we are not at par with Ryan Giggs or Theo Walcott. Shifting a midfield player to defense during a game shows he doesn't have an option. (If i'm not mistaken, I don't see him watch the UFL games like what Capello does...scouting) Caligdong should not join the UAE tour since he's injured. Man we got lots of young guns in the UFL to at least give a chance. GK Sacapano in not in the circle of Best GK of UFL as per survey. Where's Munoz and Mercado? Yeah you beat Nepal 4-0. What is it to brag about? what if it was let's say Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia or even Uzbekistan? Recently they beat Al - Ahli the # 12 in Quatar and close to relegation. But they manage to score a goal. Anyway, if PFF can get a decent coach with a good credential for U21 why settle for this guy who doesn't have a Championship trophy and who doesn't know how to address a Post game interview. If you wanna get the AZKALS to the next level get a better one next time coz we're wasting our time. I did not suggest the name AZKALs for nothing(FYI-it was my idea to name them AZKALS). Again i want him fired!
Anonymous said…
ganito kasi yun...chemistry is the key for a champion team in any sports. thats what we had in last susuki cup with mcmeneny calling the shot. the comfidence level of the team and the new breed of fans were very high. we think we can beat any team thats why we believed that we can be at the world cup. we are all in a high on what they accomplish...
then suddenly we fired mcmenemy...and again we start from a zero. players again need to adjust to a new coach and a new system coach weiss stritcly enforce. how sad that we cant play hartmann.
heres the catch...mcmenemy planted the seeds coach weiss harvest it and done n othing
Cebu Football said…
And I reiterate my point too.
We keep Coach Weiss. Firing him at this point is suicide.

By the way, Munoz is with U21 team and Mercado knows he's pretty old to be national team again. And I think it's pretty unfair to think that Sacapano shouldn't be there because he's not in the survey of the best keeper. This guy has been with the national team since 04, 05 and I say we keep him.

But I also agree on giving the other young guns in the UFL a chance. Who knows? After all the noise raised and with coach Zohan in local matches regularly, we'll see coach Weiss in the UFL matches, scouting.
Cebu Football said…
By the way Basti, are you the Azul Calle guy? ---Ka Ligo---
Cebu Football said…
By the way, I also know the origin of the Askals.
Cebu Football said…
Coach Simon Mcmenemy also benefited from the system Des Bulpin put in.
basti_sebastian said…
Bastinho was my user ID in that forum (If only i can get that thread back.
These were my points on recommending the name:
AZKALS coz it's more Filipino. Very visible on the streets, a survivor and Bantay the ever known Philippine dog is an askal.
AZKALS - I used the letter Z as a twk coz i am from Zbga City. I opposed to Calle Azul coz it sounded more Spanish and Italy uses Azzuri.-
george said…
nice...keep it up! love your comments as well.

Popular posts from this blog

The failed U23 experiment

Mother Nature plays spoilsport

A Pinoy played for Real Madrid? (updated)